


A Series of Unfortunate Popsicle Events

by bethought (daeseol)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Crushes, M/M, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 16:10:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6914119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daeseol/pseuds/bethought
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taeil bought too many popsicles. He thought maybe he could share them with his neighbor, Taeyong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Series of Unfortunate Popsicle Events

**Author's Note:**

> I should be linking the prompt here but I lost the link so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. Unbeta-ed. That is an important warning.

Taeil only wanted a popsicle. Just one. He knew it would be enough to satisfy this late night weekend craving. He just wanted something sweet and cold. So when he came back ten minutes later, it never made sense to him why he was carrying a bag of ten different flavors, all having Frozen character designs on their wrappers. He sighed as he sadly looked at them.  
  
“Dumb,” he thought, gently slapped himself twice.  
  
He opened one and shoved it in his mouth. It was a disappointment because it didn’t even taste good. Now he just hated himself more for impulsively hoarding a bag of Frozen popsicles just because he thought they looked cute. They would probably just end up, well,  _frozen_  in his fridge for weeks, untouched.  
  
Then there was a eureka moment. He could knock on his neighbor’s door, and out of goodwill and generosity, offer some of his popsicles because what could be better done to a bunch of extra popsicles than sharing it with his neighbor? Whom he had been crushing on?  
  
Alright. Offering popsicles to a crush probably wasn’t the most romantic thing to do but Taeil had to decide before they melt. His heart raced, wondering if this was a good idea. He made a quick decision though because five minutes later, he found himself in front of his neighbor’s door.  
  
“Taeyong,” Taeil recalled his neighbor’s name. He moved in a month ago and the longest conversation they had was last week when he got corrected after accidentally calling him Taeyang.  
  
He knocked twice and waited for what could Taeil only describe as the longest ten seconds of his life. When the door clicked and the knob turned, Taeil sighed, holding in his hands a cold bowl of nine popsicles. The door opened. Taeil parted his lips to speak. But he didn’t.  _He couldn’t_.  
  
Taeyong appeared but Taeil wasn’t expecting for his crush to appear on the doorstep half-naked, no shirt on, with disheveled hair like he just got up from his bed. He even got his hand on his hair so Taeyong just looked like he stepped straight out of a Men’s Health magazine. Taeil felt hot. Like really hot if he wouldn’t leave the popsicles in the bowl would melt. He stepped back.  
  
“Nothing. It’s nothing. Bye,” he spoke then ran. Or strode. Or a mix of both. He fumbled on his knob in panic, oblivious of Taeyong who followed him with a surprised and confused gaze. He would never notice because as soon as the door opened, Taeil went in, slammed it shut, and leant on it. As soon as he caught his breath, he rushed to the dining, placed the bowl on the table, and took two popsicles to slam on his cheeks.  
  
“Oh shit.” Taeil could feel the popsicles soften as he kept them on his face. Now he was glad he bought a lot of it. He might need some to cool down this heat.  
  
  
  
  
There are now three empty popsicle wrappers on the table when three knocks on the door broke Taeil’s slowly becoming inappropriate reverie. He stood up, opened the door, and got another surprise although this time with less shock. Taeyong was on his doorstep, no longer shirtless. It was a thin and loose shirt which wasn’t making the other feel any better but at least he got something on to cover what could be Taeil’s next fantasy.  
  
“Hi hyung,” Taeyong spoke. He wore an apologetic smile. It was cute. “Sorry. I… I didn’t expect you’d come. And I kind of surprised you so I want to apologize.”  
  
Taeil looked at him, confused.  _So if he knew it was me then he’d wear something more decent?_  He nodded and laughed. “No, no, it’s okay. You probably were doing something and I interrupted you. Sorry.”  
  
“Nothing really,” Taeyong said. “Was just slouching. What was it by the way?”  
  
Then Taeil felt embarrassed all of a sudden. He could feel his face feel warm and he knew he was turning red. “Nothing serious. It’s… I kind of, uhm, hoarded unnecessary stuff. And I thought I could share it with you.”  
  
“What kind of… _stuff_?”  
  
“P-popsicles.”  
  
Taeil expected judging eyes. He really was but he didn’t get it. He got instead a Taeyong with wide glittery eyes and an excited smile. “Really? I love popsicles!”  
  
It was a bit of relief but at the pit of his stomach, Taeil could feel the worst somersaults were to come. How come Taeyong could be the hottest person on earth then the next second, he was the most adorable? Taeil gulped, clenched fist on his sides as he tried to contain the cute aggression overtaking his rationality. He sighed. “Uhm, wait here.”  
  
Taeil came back with a bowl of five popsicles. “Here. They're all yours.Sorry. They’re a bit soft now.”  
  
Taeyong nodded. “Thank you, hyung!”  
  
“No problem,” Taeil said, suppressing the urge to squish Taeyong’s cheeks. Or his bum instead.  
  
  
  
  
Monday came and Taeil was late. He had an exam in thirty minutes and he needed to catch the bus in five minutes. He wasn’t sure how he did it but luckily he managed to get on it before it left. There was a free seat, thank god, and as soon as he plopped on it, he thought he was breathing the last breath of his life.  
  
“Tissues, hyung?” His seatmate offered a box of tissues.  
  
And of course there was Taeyong to witness the start of his miserable—or probably not entirely bad—Monday. He looked just as attractive as he was last weekend except this time, he’s covered in clothes.  _Proper, formal_  clothes. He wore a high class looking dark jacket, a tie, and a sky blue long-sleeve button-downs that perfectly fit his wonderful body. Taeil shut his eyes for a second because he knew what looked like underneath those classy clothes.  _Not in public_ , he thought.  _Not now_.  
  
“Oh. Hi, and thanks.” Taeil grabbed some tissues and dabbed it on his sweaty forehead. “And…why the clothes?”  
  
“Got a class presentation. Marketing stuff,” Taeyong explained.  
  
“Oh, good luck.” Taeil said.  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
Then it was awkward silence. Taeil didn’t know what to do or say next. He could compliment Taeyong for being overly handsome like if he got off the bus and a throng of girls with bazooka lenses came rushing at them Taeil wouldn’t be surprised. But he was glad he still knew self-control. This silence was, however, killing him.  
  
“So, how about hyung?” Taeyong asked. “Headed to school?”  
  
Taeil nodded. “Exam.”  
  
“I see. So, good luck, too, I guess?” Taeyong said, smiling.  
  
Taeil responded with a short and unintentionally less enthusiastic “Thanks.” The whole trip remained silent. Taeil disliked it. He really appreciated Taeyong’s effort to make their small talk longer but talking has never been his forte. Three stops later, Taeyong stood up.  
  
“My stop.”  
  
“Ah. Sure. Take care, see you...soon?”  
  
Taeyong chuckled. “Yes. Soon. And, uh, I wonder if...” He trailed off. Taeil looked at him with raised brows and curious eyes. There was a long, loud hiss and the bus doors already opened. Taeyong shook his head. “Never mind. See you, hyung!”  
  
Taeil blinked. He looked past the window as soon as the bus started moving. Taeyong still was under the stop’s shade waving at Taeil until the bus turned and he was no longer visible. Taeil was curious. Dead curious. And if he could only get off right at that moment, run after Taeyong, and ask him to finish what he wanted to say, he would. But he didn’t want to look too assuming. It could be just something petty, like how he might have loved the popsicles, or he wished he had the banana flavor and not the watermelon.  
  
Taeil sighed. He hated overthinking.  
  
  
  
  
There wasn’t anything special that happened for almost a week. And by special Taeil meant any interaction beyond casual hi’s and hello’s or conversations longer than twenty seconds which would only happen when they’d take out the trash at the same time  _coincidentally_. It felt strange for Taeil because he knew, last week, they were on the way to getting to know more about each other. But things suddenly swerved and took a different lane and now he’s back to this awkward still watching-you-from-afar state. Well, at least Taeyong had not appeared to him half-naked, whether topless (or bottomless), because that would definitely drive him nuts. Although he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d actually hate seeing it. He probably wouldn’t.  
  
Then came the lucky yet unfortunate day Taeil had been waiting for: he came back from school only to realize he had locked himself out of his unit. It probably was his dumb and he didn’t want to stay outside but he tried to be positive. Except that things weren’t going as wonderful as he wished. He couldn’t find his duplicate key—he probably had left it inside, too. The apartment owner was out of town and wouldn’t be back until the weekend which meant that there was no way he could get the only remaining reserve key. He could have his doorknob smashed but he would have to shoulder the cost of repairing it. So that option was definitely a no. He was broke. If he could only get to his window and…  
  
And his eyes widened. Taeil might have thought of the silliest idea possible but he had no choice. He really wanted— _needed_ —to get back inside. He went to Taeyong’s room and, even with hesitation, knocked on the door.  
  
“Yes—oh, hi hyung!”  
  
“Oh god!” Taeil gasped and turned around quickly. “M-maybe we can talk properly if… if only you can put some shirt and pants on.”  
  
“Oh.” Taeyong said. “Sorry. I… be back really soon.” The door clicked and Taeil finally let go of his breath held too long. He knew his face was red and even with his eyes shut, the image of Taeyong only in boxers was still unusually vivid in his head. With a loud sigh and a frantic shake of his head, he calmed himself down.  
  
Taeyong appeared this time in a white shirt and jeans to Taeil’s relief. “I’m sorry. My AC’s broken.” Taeyong said, briefly explaining his state of undress earlier.  
  
“I see. Have you called a technician?” Taeil asked, getting himself segued from his two-minute all-in-the-head rehearsed speech. Taeyong nodded but he was more interested obviously as to why Taeil was once again by his door.  
  
“So, anything you need?”  
  
“Can I jump from your balcony?”  
  
Taeyong’s eyes grew wide, brows raised and mouth parted in apparent confusion and surprise. “Wait. Wait, hyung. We can talk this out—”  
  
Taeil blinked, equally confused. Then it hit him. “No! No. Oh my god, no I didn’t mean it that way,” Taeil was a lot more flustered this time. “I’m sorry. No, I mean. I locked myself out. I don’t have my duplicate and our landlord is out of town. I really need to get inside and the only way I can do it is if I jump from your balcony to my balcony. I think I forgot to lock my the balcony.”  
  
It was Taeyong who blinked this time. Obviously, he didn’t quite understand what the other just said. “Uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  
  
Taeil could feel desperation fill his chest. “Please let me do it I really need to get inside. Now. As in now.”  
  
“But what if you slip and you fall! You’ll get hurt!” Taeyong exclaimed.  
  
If there wasn’t any sense of urgency, Taeil would feel a lot more delighted at Taeyong’s reaction but his distress was taking over every happy emotions. He needed to be more convincing.  
  
“We’re only on the second floor. If I fall I think I’d survive.” The words rolled out of his mouth before Taeil could even think through it.  
  
“No, hyung. I’d feel really really horrible.” Taeyong was firm and it sounded bad for Taeil. “Nope. Sorry, I’m not letting you.”  
  
But Taeil was desperate.  _Really_  desperate. And just like his words, his next actions were hasty and unthought. He dropped to his knees and resolved that he’d stay kneeling on Taeyong’s doorstep until he’d hear a yes. He didn’t speak or begged but Taeyong reacted just as how Taeil expected.  
  
“Oh god, hyung. Don’t! Oh my god. Stand up, okay! Okay! You can jump!” Taeyong panicked, holding Taeil on his shoulders and forcing him to stand up. The older did and Taeyong was relieved. He scratched his head.  
  
“I’m…sorry.” Taeil felt guilty but his want to get to his unit overwhelmed his apologetic sentiment. “This is just really going to be quick.”  
  
With a sigh, Taeyong let Taeil in. Taeil smiled. Well, he forced a smile.  _You are jumping to your balcony, not on Taeyong_ , he reminded himself.  
  
Taeyong’s unit was neat. It was clean and the air freshener still smelled strongly but it wasn’t bad in his nose. Taeil tried not to look around, anxious that Taeyong might think he was just trying to pry into his personal space but Taeyong didn’t seem to mind his wandering eyes.  
  
“This is a really bad idea, hyung,” he said, hesitantly opening the balcony door. He even stood right on the frame, between the door and the wall, still unwilling to let Taeil do this daredevil plan.  
  
“I promise it isn’t,” Taeil tried to speak in the most convincing way possible. “The distance between your balcony and my balcony is just three feet at most. I can jump farther than that although of course I won’t do it. Also, if I fall, the worse would be a just broken arm. Or leg.”  
  
“ _Just a broken arm or leg_!” Taeyong exclaimed, to Taeil’s surprise. “Or a bleeding head or a broken skull or… I don’t know. Something worse! I don’t want you get hurt hyung, okay. Now I’m like almost a hundred percent unwilling to let you do this!”  
  
Taeil’s desperation had overcome him. He sighed defeatedly with closed eyes, shoulders held low, and a long face. If he could make a word out of his face, it would be an all-caps  _DISAPPOINTED_. He looked away from Taeyong and nodded slowly.  
  
“I understand,” Taeil spoke. It sounded like he would cry any moment. As he turned around, he said, “Thank you by the way.”  
  
“Alright! Alright!” Taeyong yielded. “Just… just do it quick! And make sure you won’t fall! Or get hurt!”  
  
Taeil felt guilty because honestly, his disappointment was half drama, but there’s no point in regretting it now because finally, he can get back to his room. Or well, at least jump to his balcony first hoping that he wouldn’t lose a leg or an arm.  
  
And so he did. As promised, Taeil did it as quick as possible. The moment he had both of his feet on the rather thick balustrades, he jumped—of course not without screaming—and he was pretty sure he got himself over the gap and into his own balcony wholly, both limbs safe. Except that he probably had exerted too much force because the moment he dropped to what with his closed eyes felt like solid floor, suggesting he did land safely, his head hit something equally hard. And it was painful.  
  
Taeil tried to get up but he was dizzy, then his head began to hurt  _excruciatingly_. The pain surged at the top of his forehead, spreading to the whole of his face, and in seconds, with eyes still shut tight, curled on the floor. He hit the edge of the marble railing.  
  
“Hyung?” Taeyong called. “Are you alright?”  
  
“Yes, I’m fine!” Taeil answered although his voice was so muffled Taeyong had to doubt.  
  
“You sure?”  
  
Then Taeil stood up. He looked at Taeyong with a smile, a really glad one—too glad it looked obviously fake. “Yes.”  
  
He felt something smooth and viscous roll from his forehead to his nose. It felt familiar until he saw it drip onto the floor. It was red, pure and dark. He touched it, the part that felt warm and throbbing, and his hand was now a mixture of scarlet and dirt. The sight of blood almost turned his stomach upside down.  
  
“What the fuck! You’re bleeding!” Taeyong yelled, his wide eyes and loud voice enough to send a chill down Taeil’s spine. “Get inside and open your door, hyung!”  
  
Taeil did as he was told, opening the sliding glass, balancing his way into the living room and to the door. A minute later, Taeyong rushed inside Taeil’s unit, holding a first aid kit on one hand. Taeil had his mouth parted, ready to say that he’s fine but Taeyong’s sharp eyes got the words rolling back to his throat. Taeyong was mad, really mad, one that Taeil had never seen even once and it made his flesh crawl.  
  
“Sit down, hyung. There,” Taeyong commanded in the most authoritative tone, pointing at the empty sofa. “We need to stop the bleeding.”  
  
Taeil said nothing. He could only obey.  
  
  
  
  
The two would spend the next thirty minutes in almost complete silent. Taeyong, who sat just across Taeil, treated the wound which thankfully wasn’t as bad as it initially looked like. The bleeding stopped as soon as Taeyong had put enough pressure on it and all they had to do was to clean and put a gauze on it.  
  
The whole time Taeyong was tending to it, Taeil didn’t speak. He wanted to but to say that Taeyong’s furrowed brows and sharp eyes, those that would even refuse to look at Taeil’s apologetic gazes, were intimidating was an understatement. It felt like a thirty-minute torture of being drowned in a six-feet pool of guilty conscience. Yet, despite Taeyong’s seemingly enraged emotions, his touch was soft and gentle—dabbing cotton on his forehead and wiping blood on Taeil’s face like it was the most fragile thing his hands would hold.  
  
Taeil appreciated it. It somehow felt calming, the fact that Taeyong wasn’t translating his anger into something that would probably just add to the physical pain. Their proximity was kind of distracting, too, and Taeil would feel a lot more awkward but the guilt was overwhelming to feel butterflies in his stomach. He thought Taeyong looked a lot more handsome in this closeness, though.  
  
“There,” Taeyong said, finally breaking the silence, his voice still firm. “It’s clean but you should still see a doctor.”  
  
Taeil only nodded, unsure if he’s allowed to speak. But he did anyway seconds later as Taeyong packed things back into the kit. “Thank you. And sorry.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Taeyong said. He sounded like a cross between mad and indifferent.  
  
Taeil shook his head which hurt quite a bit. It was tolerable. “No, it isn’t. Y-you were mad.”  
  
Taeyong’s lukewarm face suddenly shifted to worried. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad. I was just…” he trailed off as if gathering the next words to say while he finished collecting all the bloody cotton balls and dumping them all in a small paper bag. “When I saw blood on your face, it was scared and worried. I panicked and I wanted to tell you that I was right but I kind of hated myself, too, because I didn’t stop you the last minute.”  
  
“It’s okay. I understand,” Taeil said, smiling. “I’m still alive and whole but yeah, the end doesn’t always justify the means. Thank you, though. I swear, this won’t happen again.”  
  
“I just don’t want you hurt.” Taeyong finally looked at Taeil. When their eyes met, there was so much sincerity in them that Taeil had to break it and not feel too much confusing emotions. Taeyong was still his crush after all.  
  
“I’ll have this checked tomorrow.” Taeil pointed at the thick gauze pad on his forehead, tapping it lightly only to flinch because it still hurt.  
  
“Do you want me to come with you?”  
  
“What?”  
  
Taeyong shrugged. “Nothing. The doctor might reprimand you for that dumb thing you did and I thought maybe I could share the scolding with you, you know.”  
  
Taeil wasn’t sure what to say because obviously, Taeyong was mocking him. It wouldn’t take long before Taeil would nod because Taeyong was smiling at him and it was beautiful. Too enchanting to refuse.  
  
“Great,” Taeyong said. He bit his lower lip, hesitation sensed from his low hums. “And uh, hyung, maybe if… if it’s alright with you. After your check-up, can we like eat somewhere? Nothing fancy. Just, you know, some comfort food and all. Noodles or pizza sort of, if you’re up for it, that is.”  
  
Taeil stared at him. He smiled, his heart beating fast because  _is Taeyong asking me out? Is this what he’s supposed to ask in the bus a few days ago?_  He didn’t want to assume but the growing redness of Taeyong’s face wanted him to think he was on a logical train of thought. He chuckled and nodded. “Sure? I don’t think that is a bad idea. I’d love it.”  
  
“Cool,” Taeyong stood up. “Can I consider that as our first date?”  
  
Taeil almost choked. “What?”  
  
“A date.”  
  
“A date… not sure…”  
  
Taeyong giggled as Taeil trailed off. “I’ll put this back in my room and get ourselves some popsicles. Stay here, alright?”  
  
Before Taeil could even respond, Taeyong had turned on his heels and was gone out of the door. Taeil was left alone, wondering what he had just been asked. This time, the butterflies were real. Anytime he could barf out rainbows and a swarm of colorful wings. The fast beat in his chest wasn’t helping him calm his mind down at the very least. Well, it wouldn’t be bad if he would consider it as a date. He’d always wanted to go out with Taeyong anyway. But right now, he’d just be a good boy and stay there and wait for Taeyong to come back.  
  
He thought their relationship upgrade was on the right track and Taeil hoped that in the next days, they’d grow to become more than neighbors slash popsicle buddies. His face burned, wondering what could possibly happen next after it. He grinned but with a mental slap when he began absorbing himself in inappropriately self-indulgent thoughts: he wouldn’t mind tasting a different kind of “popsicle.” But that could wait. Really.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Okay, this took so long I’m really sorry. I’m not even sure why I struggled but perhaps because this is the first non-Jaehyun/Taeyong fic I’ve written.  
> 2\. This was poorly plotted out but if you still liked it then that’s great!  
> 3\. Feel free to leave comments!


End file.
